Paris-CentreNODE

Cell & Developmental Biology, Host-Pathogens & Cancer Research

The Paris-Centre node applies the know-how of its multiple sites to the domains of electronic microscopy, chemistry & optogenetics, and image processing & data management.

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5 imaging facilities and 8 R&D teams

The Paris-Centre node gathers biological imaging resources in the center of Paris, associating 5 imaging facilities and 8 R&D teams. The node Paris-Centre has the objective to make new developments and implementations of state of the art imaging systems, chemical probes and image processing for single molecules localization, dynamics and interactions in live cells, tissues and organisms and to perform cell functional analysis by using opto-manipulation. Paris Centre node was deeply involved in the “proof of concept” study led by the EurobioImaging ESFRI project.

Tech transfer

UTechS UBI – Pasteur

Facility: UTechS UBI – Pasteur

Head: Jacomine Krijnse-Locker

jacomina.krijnse-locker@pasteur.fr

Institut Pasteur 25-28 Rue du Docteur Roux 75724, Paris CEDEX 15

Member of C2RT (Center for Resources and Research in Technology) the Unit for service and technology in ultra-structural bio-imaging (UBI) at Pasteur provides technical and scientific support in electron microscopy, mainly, but not exclusively, to the Pasteur community, analyzing host-pathogen interactions at the ultra-structural level. Our equipment enables us to do state-of-the-art EM for life sciences that includes three dimensional EM by tomography and focused ion beam SEM. The ultrapole is run by ten members (eight engineers and two technicians), each specialized in certain techniques. We put a big emphasis on correlate light- and electron microscopy to study key (rare events) of host-pathogen interactions and we have designed several protocols to combine room temperature LM and cryo-LM with FIB-SEM, cryo-SEM and cryo-tomography.

The UBI also has a small research group focusing on large DNA-viruses. Through this research theme we wish to establish and develop robust, new protocols for various EM-techniques.

Facility: PICT-IBiSA Curie

Head: Olivier Renaud (PICT-LM) & Daniel Levy (PICT-EM)

The Cell and Tissue Imaging Platform (PICT-IBiSA) of the Institut Curie brings together advanced microscopy technologies. Its main objective is to provide researchers in cell biology, development, structural, chemistry and biophysics with imaging approaches at different spatial and dynamic scales ranging from the molecule, to the cell, to the organism in healthy or pathological contexts.

Services on this Facility

HCS & HTP facilities

Image Data Handling

Microscopy Technologies

ImaChem – IBENS

Facility: ImaChem – IBENS

Head: Laurent Bourdieu

École Normale Supérieure, Rue d'Ulm, Paris, France

The Imachem imaging platform provides advanced light and electronic microscopy techniques to IBENS researchers and external users. Imachem is operated by 5 engineers. The main originality of IMACHEM is its ability to undertake innovative technical developments in optical microscopy and to make them available to all users. The first expertise of the platform is super-resolution microscopy, with the development of 3D-PALM using adaptive optic methods. It can perform ultra-structural imaging and single-particle tracking in 3D with a few tens of nanometers of spatial resolution. The second expertise is ultrafast two-photon microscopy for in vivo functional recordings with a temporal resolution in the msec range. A two-photon microscope using acousto-optic scanners for 2D scanning was first designed and installed in the platform. A new system providing ultrafast 3D scanning is currently under development. Additionally, electron microscopy using high-pressure freezing will be developed for correlative light and EM imaging.

Services on this Facility

Microscopy Technologies

UTechS PBI – Pasteur

Facility: UTechS PBI – Pasteur

Head: Spencer Shorte

Photonic BioImaging is a Unit of Technology and Service (UTechS) providing optical imaging expertise in life sciences and especially their application in studies on infectious biology.

Our activities include service rendering, training, technology-driven research and technology development. They are highly multi-disciplined, and collaborative, with the mission goal focused on the use of quantitative imaging and analysis to understand the processes of cell/tissue-biology, and their usurpation by infection and disease. The R&D is founded upon the need to develop optical imaging methods that bring new understanding of host-pathogen interactions and in situ high-content imaging techniques and their application to infection, cell biology, cellular microbiology, and microbiology. We work on novel techniques extrapolating quantitative information on spatiotemporal dynamics in situ and we push the limits of existing approaches aiming to enhance their performance thereby broadening their experimental utility.

Services on this Facility

Service

HCS & HTP facilities

Service

Microscopy Technologies

Facility

Imagoseine – Institut Jacques Monod

Facility: Imagoseine – Institut Jacques Monod

Head: Jean-Marc Verbavatz

baldacci.giuseppe@ijm.univ-paris-diderot.fr

Institut Jacques Monod, Paris, France

ImagoSeine imaging facility gathers advanced light microscopy, cytometry and electronic microscopy activities, installed on 450 m² at IJM. Rooms for cells and tissues manipulations are provided to external users. ImagoSeine has been assessed and found to meet the requirements of ISO 9001 by AFNOR Certification. ImagoSeine brings together technologies and expertise in these fields, thanks to the 7 permanent and 2 contractual engineers. The originality of ImagoSeine-IJM is the close collaboration between the imaging facility which have a long experience of making available standard approaches but also new developments to the biological community and a research team involved in the development of state of the art functional imaging technologies (FLIM-FRET; FCCS) and more recently superresolution and non-linear microscopy. The ultimate goal is to provide access and training to these emerging techniques and methods for the realization of competitive biological projects.

About

What we do.

As part of the C2RT, we strive to ensure the continuity between image acquisition and image analysis. To this end we rely on our expertise in imaging and collaborate with other facilities such as the UTechS-PBI and UTechS-UBI when pertinent. All requests involving images are considered.

This activity aims at offering to users quick answers to scientific questions involving well-established pipelines, for which a commercial or published tool exists and can be used conveniently. Users can address their question to the facility during open-desk sessions or directly via one-to-one requests. Depending on the effort involved, the solution is derived and proposed onsite, or individual trainings are scheduled. For general topics, the Hub organises regular courses and workshops, possibly involving external teachers or providers.

For instance, see below for the announcement of our open-desk, organised regularly every two week.

Research endeavours to address original questions, for which analysis tools might be lacking or incomplete. The Image Analysis Hub aims at creating or implementing novel tools based on existing algorithms to address these questions, using skills in image analysis and software development. More than just developing the analysis tool, this activity often involves deriving a suitable analysis methodology, for which the facility expertise in microscopy and biophysics is key. Engineers work in close collaboration with users within the framework of a scientific project over medium or long durations. For projects whose effort would extend beyond typical facility usage or involve original research work, the project may be directed to the BioImage Analysis unit after a discussion with all parts.

Data volume and modern analysis techniques may call for a computing power not always present in Pasteur labs. Providing open-access workstations unlock barriers to compute-intensive tools. They also act as the central sharing points for commercial softwares, making them available to the whole campus. Finally, some specialized tools require special deployment efforts, e.g. to make such a tool able to exploit the HPC infrastructure of the Institut Pasteur.

Software development and image analysis skills of the facility can be leveraged to build ambitious software tools shipping innovative technologies. These tools exceed the scope of single projects and address the unarticulated needs of the Pasteur community and their creation is part of the development activity of the facility.

Services on this Facility

Service

Image Data Handling

Facility

IMAG’IC

Facility: IMAG’IC

Head: Pierre Bourdoncle

u1016-imagic@inserm.fr

Institut Cochin, Rue Mechain, Paris, France

The Institut Cochin photonic imaging facility (IMAG’IC), which has the Gis IBiSA, France-BioImaging and ISO 9001 labels, is under the scientific direction of Florence Niedergang and under the responsibility of the engineer Pierre Bourdoucle.
In the center of Paris, the platform has 15 acquisition systems and 3 stations for analysis and image processing, spread over 130 m². Any person working in a public laboratory (EPST, University) or private company can benefit from help or training to become autonomous to work on all microscopes managed by the platform.
In parallel, image restoration by 3D deconvolution, image quantification, database, 3D printing, vibratome sectioning of thick tissues and tissue clarification are also now proposed to our users.

Services on this Facility

Service

Image Data Handling

Service

Microscopy Technologies

R&D team

ENS Chemistry

R&D team: ENS Chemistry

Head: Ludovic Jullien

École Normale Supérieure, Rue d'Ulm, Paris, France

ENS Chemistry facility gathers instruments devoted to the characterization and purification of optical probes and actuators by means of various spectrometries (UV-Vis absorption, fluorescence emission) and chromatographies (capillary electrophoresis, HPLC analytical or preparative), installed on 100 m² at ENS Chimie. Access is provided to external users with technical and conceptual assistance from the 8 permanent members involved in FBI. The originality of ENS Chimie is the close collaboration between the characterization facility making available established approaches to the biological community and a research team involved in the development of state of the art chemical technologies for the optical control and reading out of living systems. The ultimate goal is to provide access and training to these emerging techniques and methods for the realization of competitive biological projects.

Services on this R&D team

Service

Bioprobes

R&D team

Physico-Chemistry-Curie: PCC team

R&D team: Physico-Chemistry-Curie: PCC team

Head:

Hôpital Institut Curie, Rue d'Ulm, Paris, France

The team research is focused on developing and applying advanced single molecule imaging tools for cell biology. To this end, the group combines novel optical, computational and labelling methods in order to localize, track, or count individual molecules in their cellular context. It owns several home-built microscopy set-ups, including a multifocus microscope for 3D imaging, a set-up combining FCS and single molecule, two TIRF single molecule microscopes, and a system combining single molecule detection, micropatterning and optogenetic manipulation. The lab is equipped with all the equipments (incubators, hood,…) required for live cell imaging and sample preparation.